The Assistance to the Palestinian People Unit (APPU) was established in 1985, with a specific mandate to monitor and investigate the social and economic impact of policies of the Israeli occupation authorities in the Palestinian territory.

The establishment of APPU crowned the secretariat´s pioneering work on the Palestinian economy which commenced in 1979 upon the request of member States.

This makes UNCTAD the first international organization to systematically examine the Palestinian economy´s multifaceted development predicament.

Drawing on the secretariat´s global mandate, APPU has been actively responding to official requests for technical assistance by Palestinian public and civil society institutions, thereby positioning itself as a focal point for the interrelated treatment of Palestinian trade, finance and economic development.

UNCTAD´s work on the Palestinian economy is centred on the secretariat´s three main interrelated pillars of activities:

Research and analysis

Technical cooperation

Supporting intergovernmental consensus-building in this area of work

Activities under each pillar respond to the evolving needs of the Palestinian people within four programmatic clusters:

Development strategies and trade policies

Trade facilitation and logistics

Public finance modernization and reform

Enterprise, investment and competition

Note:

In accordance with the relevant resolutions and decisions of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, references in this Web site to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (or occupied Palestinian territories) pertain to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

News

UNCTAD and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) signed, on 21 December 2011, a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening the Bureau’s capacities at economic modelling and forecasting.

UNCTAD secretariat hosted Palestinian diplomats from 12-30 September for on-the-job training on the UN system in Geneva. This was the second time UNCTADs Assistance to the Palestinian People Unit has collaborated with the UN Division of Palestinian Right

The annual report to the Trade and Development Board on UNCTAD Assistance to the Palestinian people and recent developments in the economy of the occupied Palestinian territory was released at a press conference in Geneva on 23 August.